Dynamo end season with bittersweet win

If there is a word to describe Saturday afternoon for the Houston Dynamo, it would be bittersweet. Bittersweet because the 2010 season will go down in the records book as a disappointment, but the Dynamo ended the year with their first back-to-back MLS victories in more than a year and half after defeating the Seattle Sounders 2-1.

“I thought we played well, as it was a tough game,” said head coach Dominic Kinnear. “When we got behind a goal, we could’ve put our heads down, but we didn’t, and both our goals were great buildup play. It’s a great way to end the season, and I am pleased for the guys that they did it this way.”

You have to go back to June 2009 for the last time Houston won back-to-back MLS games.

“We’re happy with the way we’ve finished the season in the last game,” said forward Cam Weaver who scored the game-winner for Houston. “But it still doesn’t hide the [way we played] the entire season.”

Offensively, Houston scored two beautiful team goals and showed some of its potency in attack. Defensively, the team continued the troubling trend of yielding the game’s first goal and came very close to yielding a goal late.

“I just thank my team for coming down out of that 1-0 hole,” said Dynamo goalkeeper Tyler Deric, who made his second consecutive start. “Coming back to win 2-1 is really big for the guys.”

Bittersweet because for large stretches of the match, Houston clearly outplayed the playoff-bound Sounders. Bittersweet because the team may be playing its best soccer over the last month of the season.

While Houston’s two victories to close out 2010 are a bright spot, the team knows full well that there are significant changes to the roster upcoming in the offseason. As a result, Dynamo players left the locker room after the match knowing this will be the last time this group would be together.

“We don’t want the season to end now,” said Weaver. “We’re playing well now, but you can’t pick and choose when you go on those runs, so it’s obviously way, way too late. We’ll head into the off-season with some confidence, and hopefully the players will be working hard to improve their games so the guys who are here next year will work on reversing what happened this year.”

Dwain Capodice is a contributor to MLSsoccer.com. Questions or Comments can be sent via email to dwaincapodice@gmail.com.